Rubber or plastic encased flexible reinforcement or flexible member



Aug. 2l, 1945. H. GHEz ETAL RUBBER OR PLASTIC ENCASED FLEXIBLE REINFORCEMENT-OR FLEXIBLE MEMBER Filed May'ls. 1942-v IJI lill I IN V EN TORS:

ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RUBBER 0R PLASTIC ENCASED FLEXIBLE REIN FORCEMENT R FLEXIBLE MEMBER Henry Ghez and Oscar Ghez, New York, N. Y.

Application May 19,

6 Claims. This invention relates to a resilient shoe sole and has for its chief object to provide -an improved shoe sole including an elongated reinforcing member of normally stiff material made nexible or resilientl by a series of spaced slots and an `elastic material encasing the outer periphery of said member and extending into said slots so as to prevent undue distortion or breakage of such member such material further having a suilicient marginal width about the member for stitching to an upper.

The resilient member is preferably made of cardboard, vulcanized ber, plain wood or plywood, aluminum and any and all other stiff materials, while the elastic material to be assoelated therewith may be liverubber, either natural or synthetic, or any resilient or elastic plastic material more or less well known in the art, such as Vinylite and cellulose acetate derivatives. It is quite evident that the degree of resiliency which will inhere in the resilient member will depend upon .the thickness and rigidity of the material used, the length of the slits or slots therein as well as the width and actual form, and also their number which involves greater or lesser distances'between the same. The rubber or plastic material encasing ythe resilient memberi and entering the slots will obviously form a.

compact mass with the resilient member, which will not readily be dissociated therefrom when the resulting compact body is tensed, compressed or distorted within a reasonable degree.

In order to disclose more comprehensively the features of our invention, the same is illustrated in the accompanying drawing by way of example. Y

Fig. 1 is a plan view partly in section of a shoe sole built up on the principle of our invention, having elastic plastic or rubber encasin-g an interior resilient member.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the sole of Figure 1 along line B-6.

Fig. 3 is a modification of the sole of Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is another modification of the same.

Fig. 5 is a further modification.

A shoe sole embodying the salient features oi our invention is indicated at I2 in Figures 1 and 2. In .these figures a resilient member I3 formed from ber wood multiple veneer, or other suitable stiff material is provided `with alternate Vslots 2, 3 which extend from one edge or side of the same .toward the other and vice versa, so that only a relatively small neck of the material remains beyond the inner edge of each slot comparable inwidth with the distance between slots. The 55 3. A resilient shoe sole inducing en elongated l 1942, serial No. 443,648

(ci. afs- 32) resilient member I3 has a contour I4 corresponding in spaced manner to that of the exterior sole I2 and wholly encased in rubber or plastic material 6, which penetrates the slots 2 and 3, 5 the resilient member of course giving both resillency and body to the sole, while the rubber retains the same intact and within bounds so lthat its resilience is maintained and at the same time the elasticity of the rubber is present.

In Figure 3 a modification is shown wherein the sole I4 only partly encloses the resilient sole member I3 by exposingy the top of the same and covering the sides yand the bottom and lling the slots or slits between the individual branches l5 or parts I5 of the resilient member, the materials being of the same nature as in Figures 1` and 2. Y An opposite modification is disclosed in Figure 4, wherein the resilient member I3 is exposed upon the bottom of the sole I6 and being otherwise constructed in similar fashion to the sole of Figure 3. Figure 5 is a different modication in which the sole-I1 consists of the plastic or rubber material 6. which merely surrounds the resilient member I8 and fills the slots at I9 between the branches 20 of the resilient member, the latter extending through the sole so as to be exposed at both top and bottom surfaces.

Having now fully described our invention, we claim: 1. A resilient shoe sole including an elongated reinforcing member of normally stiff material having spaced slot por-tions extending alternately a distance from the two side edges in upon said member, and an elastic material encasing the outer edges or periphery of the 'same member and extending into the slot portions thereof so as to prevent undue distortion or breakage of said member and further having a sufficient margina] width about the member for stitching to an upper, while exposing the upper and lower surfaces of said member to view.

2. A resilient shoe soleincluding an elongated reinforcing member of normally stiff material having spaced slot portions extending alternately a distance from the two side edges in upon said member, and an elastic material encasing the outer edges and one surface of the-same member and extending into the slot portions thereof so as to prevent undue distortion or-breakage of said member and further having a suicient marginal width about the member for stitching to an upper, while exposing one surface of said member to view.

reinforcing member of normally stii material and extending into the slot portions thereof so as to prevent undue distortion or breakage of said member and further having a sulcient marginal width about the member for stitching to l an upper, while completely concealing said member from view.

4. A resilient shoe sole including an elongated reinforcing member of normally stii material having a plurality of spaced open slots extending alternately a distance inwardly from the two side edges of said member, said slots extending generally transverse to the length of the element. and an elastic material encasing the outer edges or periphery of the member and extending into the slots thereof so as to prevent undue distortion or breakage of said member, said material being molded to said member, and further having a sullclent marginal width about the member for stitching to an upper.

5. A resilient sole as claimed in claim 4, said ,elastic material exposing at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of said member to view.

6. A resilien-t sole as claimed in claim 4, said elastic material exposing at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of said member to view, said slots lying at right angles to the length of the element, being substantially parallel, and having substantiallyparallel spaced edges.

HENRY GHEZ. OSCAR GHEZ. 

